Another weapon to wage the war…and maybe win?

Winning the war … Such an action packed phrase. Do we ever win our wars? The occasional battle has been conquered, but has the war truly been won?

Let’s figure out what our war consists of. Wars have two sides: an adversary and a defender. Most of us would always note ourselves as the defender of whatever issue we hold dear. We would, then, lump those we toil against as our adversaries.

Adversaries come in many shapes and sizes. Adversaries or opponents could be Those Against Knitting Enjoyment (or TAKE as they’ve become known in upper circles). They can be our families (always needing this or wanting that). They can be our pets (needing to be walked, fed, or bathed – sort of like kids, but more on that later). They can be our husbands (again, needing to be fed or paid attention to. Is anyone else beginning to notice a theme starting to form here?). They can be our bosses and co-workers (what happens when we are self employed? Who do we blame, then? Hmm … food for thought here?). Jobs and careers seem to always come with those nagging deadlines that have no tolerance or understanding for things like “Just one more round and I’ll edit those 7 pages;” or “This ball of angora and cashmere mix needs every ounce of me to love it and hold it and pet and … well, you know as I’m sure you’ve been there … before I can even possibly reply to another email.” I think you are beginning to get the picture … TAKE is one big pot of adversarial geniuses intent on created havoc in an otherwise perfect world where we would sit and knit uninterrupted.

The evil Dust Bunny, an artistic rendering of the beasts by Tony Orzeck. They are formed of hair, lint, dead skin, dust and sometimes light rubbish and debris. Held together by the bonds of static electricity, these little critters are the bane of many households. They are difficult to collect as they hide in unused corners and the dark crevices behind furniture and under beds. The quest to collect as many as possible is a never ending task involved in housekeeping. They are harmful to electronics, as they can seriously disrupt air flow through heat sinks and thus raise the temperatures of hard drives and ultimately result in the shortening of the life span of electronic components. Thus, they are vicious little critters that need to be eradicated.

Perfect worlds as they be, mine does not conform to the fantasy, which is complete with visions of uninterrupted and serene knitting time. It is filled to the brim with opponents and, thus, litters my journey with little battles that become obsessions fights of the righteous (that would be me) over larger and bigger (but not better) adversaries. Let me tell you about an adversary that is cunning, experienced at catching one unawares, accomplished tacticians, and ultimately evil to their core. That’s right, I have been waging battle against Dust Bunnies for the better part of my adult life.

The war consists of daily battles to keep the Bunnies at bay. They leave evidence of their existence everywhere. The discarded fur remains stuck in fans. Their prints litter the floors. Their nests become part of the landscape in corners and under couches and beds. They’ve even become accustomed to leaving trails throughout the kitchen and living. What are we to do?

Every now and again we must remain vigilant to tactics of seek and destroy. Therefore, I wanted to tell you of my new “toy.” I invested in a Steam Shot by Bissell. This new addition to my arsenal of dust bunnie busting tools is fast becoming one of my favourite items. It strikes fear into the hearts of my opponents with every shot. It does windows, counters, bathrooms, ovens, fridges, and pretty much anything else that needs a grime-busting pick me up!

The Steam Shot is a hand held tool that cleans with steam. Dust bunnies haven’t a chance to amass their cohorts and encourage them to continue to disrupt my peace and tranquility. Kitchen grease is gone in a flash. It melts away tell tale signs of bunnie activities in the bathroom, on the grill, in the oven, and on the countertops. No extra cleaners are necessary. The steam seemingly dissolves grease, grime, and bunnie dropping where ever I point it. This, for sure, is the best little tool I’ve found in a long time.

So there you have it. The war wages on. But I have found a little tool that makes me feel like I am accomplishing a win every now and again. Now back to knitting:

Now that ‘Hey Teach’ is happily living in my clothes cupboard and off the needles, I am working on Lindsay from Sock Innovation:

The members of the Saskatoon Knitting Circle have been busy stitching (June 5, 2009):